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Roger Federer climbed into rarefied territory on a rainy Friday at the Australian Open. With a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 third-round win over 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov
in Rod Laver Arena, the No. 3 seed clinched the 300th Grand Slam match
win of his storied career, becoming the first man to reach the
milestone.

Only Martina Navratilova (306) stands in front of him.

“It's very exciting, I must tell you,” said Federer of the milestone. “Like when I reached 1,000 (tour-level match wins) last year, it was a big
deal for me. Not something I ever aimed for or looked for, but when it
happens, it's very special. You look deeper into it, I guess, where it's
all happened and how. So it's very nice. I'm very happy.”

Despite being the first man to notch 300 match wins at Grand Slam tournaments, Federerfound success to be a long and winding journey.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” said Federer as he reflected on his early career, one which saw him upset Pete Samprason
the Wimbledon Centre Court at age 19. Following that unexpected win,
the ponytailed wunderkind needed to wait two more years before
fulfilling his immense promise and capturing his first Grand Slam title
on the same court.

“I wish I could have maybe been tougher when I was younger in
practice, but I guess that's just how it needed to be,” said Federer,
who was eliminated in the first round of 2003 Roland Garros by underdog Luis Horna
before finally putting it all together weeks later at SW19. “It needed
to be genius or horrible. I needed to have that wide spectrum. I needed
to make mistakes to become the player I am today.

“I think it's really important. It's okay to make mistakes.”

The final win over Mark Philippoussiswas a long
time coming for the then-21 year old, but Federer stressed the important
of patience for young guns looking to take that step today.

“There's more professional tennis players than ever,” he said. “The depth is greater. Talent takes you only so far. You
have got to be patient. You can't expect to win Slams at 16, 17, 18
anymore these days, or skyrocket through the rankings, unless you're out
of this world.

“The spotlight's on you when you're a teenager. You have to react
very quickly to all the things that are coming at you. That's why I
think it's always very interesting to follow a teenager growing up on
the tennis tour. It’s too bad that we don't see more of them, because
they still are so young and are just themselves.”

Federer stressed the importance of being surrounded by quality people during that process.

“Marc Rosset was a big influence on me because he
guided me around the tour a little bit, showed me where to string a
racquet and where to book practice courts,” said Federer of his
compatriot, a towering net-rusher who was ranked No. 9 in the world and
who won gold at the 1992 Olympic Games for Switzerland. “Maybe if you're not sure how to
handle the press, whatever it was, you could always ask the right
people.”

Now an elder statesman of the game at age 34, Federer is no doubt
thrilled with how his career has unfolded. But there is a wistful tone
in his voice when he thinks back to the time when he was a raw,
long-haired kid, ready to take on the world.

“Eventually you figure out how to handle yourself on and off the
court. But I think the process is always very intriguing. It's been
amazing. I've been truly privileged to have the experience.”

The 48-minute first set went in Federer’s favour behind a service
break at 3-all, the only interruption the opening, then closing, of Rod
Laver Arena’s retractable roof due to rain. But the Bulgarian Dimitrov,
who after three straight-sets losses took his first set off Federer in
the Brisbane quarter-finals earlier this month, would get another to
level the match at a set apiece, his aggressive play paying dividends
against the 17-time Slam champ.

Federer didn’t wait long to assert himself in the third set, breaks
coming in the second and sixth games for a 5-1 advantage. A game later
he was ahead two sets to one. A forehand error from Dimitrov at 2-all,
30/40 in the fourth and final set would give Federer a seemingly
insurmountable lead, and the Swiss went on to clinch the contest in two
hours and 40 minutes. He finished with 47 winners, including 13 aces.

“That was my goal, to react quickly after the second set because I
struggled a little bit,” said Federer. “But then found my way back, then
was able to take charge of the match. It was important. Conditions,
again, were very different indoors than they were against Dolgopolov in
the second round. Even night session plays different.

“Just got to manage these conditions a bit. I'm pleased. Wasn't easy. I
didn't expect it to be against Grigor. It was a tough round, so I'm
happy.”

Federer advances to play No. 15 seed David Goffin of Belgium, a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 winner over No. 19 seed Dominic Thiem
of Austria. The 25-year-old Goffin is through to the fourth round of a
major for the third time, having also reached the last 16 at 2012 Roland
Garros (as a qualifier) and 2015 Wimbledon.